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Vic Socotra

Author: Vic Socotra

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October 7, 2019 Vic Socotra

Arrias: Let’s Forget

George Santayana, the brilliant, Spanish-born American philosopher, is well remembered for having said (among a host of other things) that: “those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” Indeed. We need to remember the past, and learn from history, we need to learn from the mistakes of others. But we also need […]

October 6, 2019 Vic Socotra

Point Loma: The Skeleton Coast

My former high school, church, college, and then later Navy running mate Jim sent me this picture taken off the coast of Namibia. It is true maritime ruin porn – fascinating in its embodiment of desolation. The place is the home of some pretty unique geographic features, including sand dunes that rival those of the […]

October 5, 2019 Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: A Luni Tale

Editor’s Note: The Swamp is literally boiling these days. The passionate partisanship is oddly familiar if you can take yourself back to the late Sixties and the weirdest year of them all- 1968. I had hoped to never see stuff like that again. The circus in progress now certainly has potential to match it or […]

October 3, 2019 Vic Socotra

Arlington Now

Last year at this time I was freaking out. My lease was up with State Department Susan, and it was either time to re-up for another year (she was big on the ballet of government moves) or move out. Being a man who prefers the path of least resistance, I decided to make an offer […]

October 2, 2019 Vic Socotra

Swamp Postcard: New Depths

It is kind of neat waking up in this transitional season at Refuge Farm. The sun continues to rise in the east. The list of things to accomplish before the onset of Winter is a bit daunting. But the turkeys and roosters start calling a little before dawn, and after a couple seasons, I can […]

September 30, 2019 Vic Socotra

Point Loma: The Bull Ring

Editor’s Note: We are spinning the Ukraine story like crazy around The Swamp. I am thoroughly sick of this already. Point Loma takes us on a trip to another time and a marvelous place. And for you junior Intelligence people, pay attention to the tradecraft tips on desk-top reconnaissance of the Boss’s desk when the […]

September 30, 2019 Vic Socotra

Arrias: Humpty Dumpty, Dire Straits and Adam Schiff

Editor’s Note: Happy (Fiscal) New Year! At midnight, some of us will time-travel to FY 2020. Bureaucrats, bag-men and contractors across The Swamp and celebrate the arrival of new truckloads of taxpayer cash arriving in the capital and will have a sip of bubbly before going back for each other’s throats. Could be an interesting […]

September 28, 2019 Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: Fruitcake Season

Editor’s Note: I meant to memorialize yesterday- the one year anniversary of tripping on one of my elegant Persian rugs and crashing headlong into the wall at my little pied a terre at Big Pink. Recovery has been almost as interesting as the immediacy of the blow to the head. That was recent, compared to […]

September 26, 2019 Vic Socotra

What the Flock

Jail break for the turkeys from the Russians. Great afternoon at the farm. Herding cats? Give me a break. Nothing going on today here in the country except assorted poultry. Up north, there seems to be some stuff going on with the acting Director of National Intelligence and that irritating Mr. Schiff. I prefer herding […]

September 25, 2019 Vic Socotra

Swamp Postcard: Indian Summer?

God, I love this time of year in The Swamp. My Wolverines have broken my heat early this season, so that it something out of the way and not to worry about the rest of the season. The Virginia days are gentle, if you are not blocking the Inter-State across town. Demonstrators about something- Climate? […]